China Brandishes Cutter For Snipping Deep-Sea Cables

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In line with that, Sam Dumesh mentions in an American Security Project (ASP) article this month that a breach of cable landing stations could allow China to reroute internet traffic, including US-based services. Dumesh points out that access may already be assured if such data is rerouted to Chinese-owned infrastructure.

While he says encryption can help secure compromised data, such data can be harvested, stored and decrypted later using quantum computing technology.

Despite the threat of US data routed through China-controlled undersea cable infrastructure, Anna Gross and other writers mention in a June 2023 Financial Times (FT) report that the US has, with relative success, blocked China out of most undersea cable projects.

However, Gross and others point out that China has responded by implementing undersea cable projects in friendly countries, raising concerns about who owns and manages the global Internet infrastructure.

Given those threats, China's unveiling of its deep-sea cable cutter device possibly amplifies the vulnerability of undersea cables surrounding Taiwan and Guam.

In a July 2024 report for the Stanford Global Digital Policy Incubator, Charles Mok and Kenny Huang note that Taiwan's digital lifeline relies on 15 undersea cables that carry over 100 terabits per second of bandwidth; however, this vital infrastructure is acutely vulnerable to both natural and man-made disruptions.

Mok and Huang note that Taiwan is surrounded by seismically active seas and dependent on foreign repair ships, of which only 22 globally are dedicated to maintenance.

As a result, they mention Taiwan faces logistical delays in restoring connectivity after damage. They point out that incidents such as the repeated severing of cables to Matsu Island, allegedly by Chinese vessels , highlight risks of strategic sabotage.

Compounding the threat, they note that the global cable repair industry is overstretched, while Taiwan lacks domestic repair capabilities, making its network resilience precarious amid rising geopolitical tensions.

As with Taiwan, Teleguam Holdings points out that Guam is dubbed“The Big Switch in the Pacific,” as its position in the Pacific connects the Indo-Pacific with the US west coast. Teleguam Holdings emphasizes that the island's strategic location between the US and Asia offers a direct route for data transmission, which decreases latency and enhances bandwidth.

Teleguam Holdings reports that Guam hosts 12 undersea cables, providing robust connectivity and redundancy, establishing the island as a digital link.

Highlighting the potential military consequences of major cable breakages in Taiwan, Yau-Chin Tsai notes in an August 2023 article for the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) that submarine cables remain the primary connection between Taiwan and its frontline islands, such as Dongyin and Matsu.

Tsai mentions that severing the connecting cables could paralyze the islands' defenses, making Taiwan unable to use its military capabilities fully.

However, Elizabeth Braw points out in a January 2025 Foreign Policy article that during an undersea cable break between Matsu and Taiwan that month, line-of-sight microwave transmission and satellite internet ensured that most of the former's 12,000 residents remained unaffected.

Similarly, Andrew Niedbala and Ryan Berry mention in an August 2023 Proceedings article that a coordinated severing of undersea cables connecting Guam, Asia, Hawaii and the US could result in an information blackout, significantly impairing US military command and control capabilities.

However, China's announcement of its deep-sea cable-cutting device may be more propaganda than actual capability.